Armed Forces Barbecue scheduled for April 17 Published March 19, 2010 DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The 45th Annual Armed Forces Barbecue, sponsored by the Abilene Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee, is scheduled for April 17 from noon to 2 p.m. or 5-7 p.m. at the Abilene Civic Center. The barbecue, known as The World's Largest Barbecue, is hosted, planned, prepared, conducted, served and paid for by members of the CoC MAC to express Abilene's appreciation to all active duty military and their families for being a part of the Abilene community and for what they do for the country. It is free to all active duty, guard, Reserve, family members and D0D civilians. Military I.D. is required and tickets are available from unit first sergeants. After the noon serving, several hundred meals are sent to Dyess Air Force Base to be distributed to personnel on duty who cannot attend the barbecue. Originally held at the Dyess picnic grounds, the event was moved to a hangar after several years of bad weather. Fred Lee Hughes was the barbecue chairman until he became Mayor of Abilene, when he appointed Bob Deegan as the chairman with the understanding that the barbecue would move to the civic center. It has been held at the civic center since the mid 70s. Mr. Deegan chaired the barbecue for 23 years before Rob Barnhill took over in 1999. This year's even includes 3,300 pounds of beef, 600 pounds of sausage, 50 pounds of onions, 50 gallons of barbecue sauce, 500 gallons of iced tea, 1 ton of ice, 300 gallons of beans, and more prepped and served by more than 180 volunteers.